In accordance with an embodiment, described herein is a system and method for use of cyclic play queues in a media content environment. A cyclic list data structure that can be initially populated with a list of media content items to be played at a media device, exposes a cyclic list of sequences of media content items, and supports operations to modify portions of the cyclic list to provide a cyclic play queue of media content items. When changes are made to an underlying play queue or context, the system performs a three-way merge of sequences of media content items within the cyclic list, to provide a modified play queue, for example with the left sequence being an updated playlist, and the right sequence being a patch window that reflects a user's changes to the play queue.